Releasing mechanism for air-brake systems.



N. E. HIRSCH.

RELEASIN G MECHANISM FOR AIR BRAKE SYSTEMS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 4. 1914.

1,139,866, Patented May18,1915.

uuemtoz THE NORRIS PETERS CO, F'HOTD-LITHO., LVASHINGTON. D. C.

nnnnasme MEonAnIsM roe Marianne svsrnms.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May is, rare.

Application filed. May 4, 1914. Serial No. 836,297.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that L'NrorroLAs EHIRSOH,

a citizen of the United States, residing at San Luis Obispo, in thecounty of San Luis Obispo and Stateof California, have invented certainnewand useful Improvements in Releasing Mechanism for Air-Brake Systems,of which the following is a specification. I

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements inautomatic release valve mechanisms used in connection with the air brakesystem for railways.

In practice. at'the present time, the release valves are operated byholding the valve open for upward ofseveral minutes while the air in thereservoir is exhausting. This operation requires much time as thereservoir on each car in the train must be emptied of its contents, andlong delays are sometimes experienoedin making up trains.

it also frequently happens that when a train has been in transit formany hours the air brakes uponone or more ofthe cars become defectiveand when an application is made they goon ?;too hard, or elseremainapplied, and cause great damage to the wheels.

It is to overcome these and otherdifliculties now experienced that thepresent automatic release valve has been designed.

An object of thepresent invention is to provide a release valve whichwhen; nor 'mally set afterunaking up] the train, "will automaticallyallow the'reservoir and'train line toiexhaust their' contents,should theengine be detached from the train, and the angle cock opened, as is' theusual custom.

As the air passes out through the anglecock the brakes are released, andI the tram 1s ready to be shifted about as desired.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a release valveWlllCllCHl be'so operated, that "should theai-r brakes upon one or moreof the carsofa train while in transit become defective and refuse torein the rclea'se valve forpreventing the-air from thetrain llne'backlngup in the reser- 'voir and causing the defective brakes to operate. Thecut outcocks in the presentsysterns usually leak and, notwithstandingthe fact that thereservoir has beenput out from; the train line,air willleak through the cut out cock and back up into the reservoir. A

reduction now in the train line will, if the air in the reservoir hassulliciently increased in pressure, cause the defective brakes to gr1pthe wheels and operate to the damage of the car. My present releasevalve prevents this air from backing up in the reservoir when therelease valve is operated be- Another object of my invention is theprovision of a release valve which can be so operated that the air inthe reservoir can be re:

.tained therein in case of emergency. This is efi'ected by the manualoperation of the s rarnnr @FFTQEJ NICHOLAS n. HIRSCH, or sAnLUIs oBIsPo,oamronnia.

valve'whenthe accident has been discovered.

With these and other objectsin view, my invention further consists inthe combination and arrangement of partshereinafter describedand'claimed.

In the drawings,Figure 1 is-a'diagrainmatic' illustration of an. airbrake system with my invention applied thereto. Fig. 2is a verticalsectional view'upon an enlarged scale through my improved automatic release valve, which has been set when the train is made up for normalrunning condi-; tion. Fig. 3 1s a similar view with the threeway, valveset, when the brakes are defective or refuse to respond; and Fig. & is asimilar tion embodies the especial design of the review, illustratingthe position of the valve I lease valve mechanism located between thereservoir and the branch connection leading,

from the train line. a p The systemas represented in Fig.1 in- Theconstruction and operationof these severalmechanisms are well known inthe art and'a. detailed description thereof will not be included. Therelease valve Sis connected to the reservoir by the pipe connec-,'tion-9 and is also;connected to the branch by the pipe connection 10.

, Referring moreparticularly to-Figsa '2, '3 "and 'l of the drawings,therelease valve co 7 prises a casing llin which is "positioned a threeway {valve 12. This valve,\as shown,

v is, of the rotary type and has the usual oper-' ating handle 13extending without the'cas pendingj stem portion 22.

mg." Ports 14, 15 and 16 areprovided in this said valve and are adaptedto make certain registrations with the main passageways 17 and 18 andthe vent 19 in the valve casing 11 at certain times and for certainpurposes, as will more fully hereinafter appear. r V Located within thecasing 11 ls-a d fierential valve 20 which, as herein shown, 1s of Thisvalve 20 51s the. lift or puppet type. provided with an upper surface 21and alde- The lower surface or area 28 of the stem 'portionrhas acertain relative proportion tothe surface or area 21 and both surfacesare affected by the pressures exerted upon each as will be pres- ,entlydescribed. A rubber :valve 2% is posietioned upon the stem portion 22andbeneath the surface 21, and fits the valve seat which, as shown in thepresenti 'mstance, is .of spherical formation, Any] other type. of

valve of the same; general construction may be employed in thisconnection and I donot limit myself to the exact construction shown. Theupper portion of the casing 11 in --whichfthevalve 20 operatesisflenlarged as at "2'6 and is'provided with. the groove 27 extendingfrom the upper edge of the opening down to a point near the valve seat.

This groove is of suflicient'length soathat whenthe valve 20. is liftedfrom its seat 'by virtue of the'pressure, the air will escape outthrough the groove and onout into the pipe connection 10, r

The casing llfand pipe connection are rjoined by the swivel connection28. A suitable gasketSO is provided betweenthe upw per edge of thecasing and. theinner end ;,0f' the pipeconnection. and prevents any 7 a40' i leakage. of the air. I I s At the lower end ofthe casing a fitting'31 is secured thereto and together with the pipe connection 9 providesthe communication between the release "valve and the reservoir.

. In order thattheseveral usesofmy improvedautomatic release valve maybe readily "understood the positions. of the valve as shownin Figs. 2, 3and 51 Willi g be described. w 7: a

5 In Fig. 2 'the'three-way valve has been i tnrned and set so thattheports'lt 'and 15 are in alinement with the passageways 1 17 and 18 inthe casing. This position is the normal position when the train ismadeup brakes have been released, and the reservoir on each car emptied;By the present desoon, as the angle cock is opened'at the end of thetrain, the train line pressure will flow outto the atmosphere. Whenthetrain line pressure has been sufficiently exhausted the valve 20 is;caused to lift fromits seat e re ervoir ressure a in 1 on b th s ct g 1the surface or area '23, thereby'allowing the reservoirair to escapethrough the groove QT-on into the trainline and out to theatline 7pressure 7 has 7 taken place, when the sign of release valve it willbeseen that as "mosphereithrou h "the angle, cock/ The areas of the surace upon the valve 20 are ,so proportioned as to keep the valve seateduntila substantial reduction in the train reservoir pressure which ismuch greater fwill operate" upon the small'surface or area 23 and liftthe valve, allowing the air from the reservoir to pass through. V

In practice the train line pressure is substantially reduced toatmospheric pressure,

before the reservoir pressure effects the opening of the valve '20. Therespective fareas of the surfaces upon the valve 20 regulate the correctoperation of this differ- ,ential valve, andil do not limit myselfto theexact proportion shown and the pressure reductionset forth. V v a Thusit Qwillbe seen that after once "settingthethreewayvalve, as shown inFig.

'2, in making up the train, no further ma nipulationoftherelease valveis necessary unclernormal running conditions; ,the brakes beingreleased: and the train line and reservoir emptied automaticallyas soonas the angle cock is opened.

In the. position of the valve shown in Fig. f

3 it will be noted that a manual operation of the valve hastaken placebecause of a de- .fective fbrake' upon one of the cars; As

hereinbefore mentioned, as soon asa brake becomes defective it isdesirable to cut out .theparticular car so that the brakes do notrespond. Asshown iniFig. '3,the ports 14 and l5 are still in alinement,but the port 16. has been so moved as to registerwith thevent opening19in the; casing. The cut- L out cock is the means new employed to pr'eg.vent' the train line pressure from entering the reservoir, but asmost-all of these valves leakit'has been found impossible to prevent the:trainlinepressure 'fromrbacking :up and entering thereservoir, andcausing damage to thewheels. Therefore it will be seen that thethree-way valve is so turned that 'shouldany, air leakpast the cut-outook and then through the valve20, it will pass out through the ventopening--19 to the atmosphere and not charge-the reservoir and cau'sethedamage to the wheels now experienced- ,".The position of the-ivalveshownclillustrates its Operation to effect a retainis o All communicationwith the atmosphere is immediately prevented and the reservoir pressureis retained until again needed.

From the foregoing it will be seen that an efiicient release valve isprovided in which numerous conditions arising in the working of an airbrake system can be readily handled in a minimum amount of time and at agreat saving ofmanual labor.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,

1. In an air brake system thecombination with a reservoir, train pipeand the brake controlling mechanism, of a release valve mechanismincluding an air connection between said reservoir and the train pipe,and

a difi'erential release valve located in said air connection forcontrolling the passage of the air from the reservoir to the atmospherefor releasing the brakes.

2. In an air brake system the combination with a reservoir, train pipeand the brake controlling mechanism, of a release valve mechanismincluding an air connection between said reservoir and the train pipe,and a difierential release valve located in said air connection, saidvalve being so proportioned as to remain closed until a reduction in thetrain line is made equal to atmospheric pressure.

3. In an air brake system, the combination with a reservoir, train pipeand the brakecontrolling mechanism, of a release valve mechanismincluding an air connection between said reservoir and the train pipe, adiflerential release valve located in said air connection, and meansindependent of said differential valve for opening said reservoir to theatmosphere.

4. In an air brake system, the combination with a reservoir, train pipeand the brakecontrolling mechanism, of a release valve mechanismincluding an air connection be tween said reservoir and-the train pipe,adifferential release valve located 1n SELld'ELlf j connection, and meansindependent of said differential valve for opening said reservoir andthe passageway leading from the differential valve to the atmosphere.

5. In an air brake system, the combination with a reservoir, train pipeand the brake- Uopies of this patent may be obtained for .five centseach, by addressing the Commissioner of Pate'nts, i

controlling mechanism, of a release valve mechanism including an airconnection between said reservoir and the. train pipe, a difi'erentialrelease valve located in said air connection, and means independent ofsaid difierential valve located between the reservoir and the saiddifierential valve for opening said reservoir and the passageway leadingfrom the difierential valve to the atmos phere.

6. In anair brake system, the combination with a reservoir, train pipeand the brakecontrolling mechanism, of a release valve mechanismincluding an air connection between said reservoir and the train pipe, adifierential release valve located in said air connection, and meansindependent of said differential valve, located in said connection, forcutting on the communication between the reservoir and the atmosphere.

7. In an air brake system, the combination with a reservoir, a trainpipe and the brakecontrolling mechanism of a release valve, mechanismincluding a casing having passageways and an opening to the atmosphere,a differential valve located in said casing, a three-way valve locatedin said casing and adapted to register with said passageways and opening.to the atmosphere. 7

8. In an air brake system, the combination with a reservoir, train pipeand the brake controlling mechanism, of a release valve mechanismincluding an air connection between said reservoir and the train pipe,and a release valve located in said air connection, for exhausting theair from the reservoir to the atmosphere when the angle cock of thesystem is opened to the atmosphere for releasing the brakes.

9. In an air. brake system, the combination,

with a reservoir, train pipe and the brake controlling mechamsm, of arelease valve mechanism including an air connection be-' tween saidreservoir and the train pipe, and a differential release valve locatedin said air connection, said valve being so proportioned as to remainclosed until a substantial reduction in'the train line is madesulficient to be overcome by the reservoir pressure.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two'witnesses.

v NICHOLAS E. HIRSCH.

Witnesses:

JAMES W. ROBERTSON, V HAROLD R. FREOK.

7 'Washington, D. G. V

